Topic: Crowd-source level building

[-<WillyP>-]

Right now singleplayer is leading the poll by a fairly wide margin, so we need some singleplayer ideas.

[Shroudeye]

Well, we got your idea of "zoned"-playing, that sound a go for me-we can always adjust the original idea to fit...

Also, if you like, I came up with an idea of a sorts after watching the movie "Sanctum", that may be interesting... Here it goes:

The player (OR group of players) gets stuck down in an unexplored cavern system, after a teleporter failure took the transporter offline and damaged their ship's systems. Their objective is simply to repair the teleporter system, by searching for resources in the tunnels and get the hell out of there before their oxygen runs out... And they would have to fight a horde of bots and environmental hazards along the way...

I was preparing to test this, but I'd like to hear your comments as well...

[-<WillyP>-]

The idea of zoned playing, as you call it, when applied to SP is not much different from the standard get the keys blow he reactor formula.  I like your idea of having to find parts to repair something.  The twist is having the timer run from level-start.  Perhaps the parts location could somehow be randomized, that might extend the replay value a bit.

Anyway, here is another idea for a multiplayer level, I started on this years ago and couldn't get the script to work correctly: TITANIUM.  Unfortunatly this game would pretty much require a large number of players in the game to be effective.  I'm thinking at least 5 on each team.

[Scyphi]

If we need single-player ideas, I do have a backlog of 36+ level ideas we could possibly draw from that I'm not using at the moment.

But there is one in particular I'd love to do.

See, I was replaying D1 level 13 not that long ago, and I just randomly got to thinking about how it'd be cool to rebuild the level in D3, but it had been left in ruins after it's reactor had blown. Kind of like that brief spot in D3 lvl 10 (?) that briefly showed D1 lvl 1's ruins, but bigger, showing more of the level in navigable ruins. Shortly thereafter I got the idea that maybe the virus had reinfected the mine for reasons unknown and hotwired a replacement reactor (I'm guessing the bots built it from scratch) in to power as much of the mine's ruins as possible, to possibly start rebuilding it, but their way, possibly creating structures reminiscent of D3 Merc Lvl 4, maybe even complete with some of those hive bots. I'd personally think this would be cool, because you'd be going down these ruined tunnels of an old D1 mine (which is cool in of itself), then suddenly turn right and BAM! Suddenly you find yourself in the middle of Merc. Lvl 4.

More details on demand, if anybody's interested.

[-<WillyP>-]

That's a cool idea, if some infected bots rebuilt a reactor who knows what mad-a double ess crap it could do.  And yeah it was pretty neat coming across the ruin of D1L1 in D3L10(?)!

[NUMBERZero]

Now wait a minute, you can still do robo anarchy in singleplayer. Everyone knows about Blue Devil from the Mercenary expansion, right? Bunch of Pyros to destory, but there was no true finish to the level after you killed them all.

I think it is possible to have a finishable robo-anarchy level.

One robo-anarchy level in D2 was finishable because it obviously always has a Reactor and then an exit.

[Shroudeye]

For robo-anarchy, how about if I present an alternation of my idea:

All the players start off trapped in a large cavern system. There is one teleporter which is the only means of escape, but your ship must be loaded with a certain amount of a substance of sorts for the teleporter to operate. And guess what, there is just enough resource for ONE ship to get out alive. So they have to fight for the resource, and they are to fight with bots, the environment... and their fellows.

That would be a total anarchy, wasn't?

I actually remember a similar multiplayer mod in MS's "StarLancer", where the players had to collect 8 "nuke charges" (?) and pass thru a hypergate to score; which in turn creates a supernova that blasts all other players...

[Ronin RedFox]

That is an amazing idea. Do it. Now. 

[Kaiaatzl]

Lol, I should show you the 1 on 1 anarchy level I made which is scripted to sometimes give a player Annoying Superpowers (like 300 shields and 300 energy) but balances it out when that player is killed (usually because all other players get a cloaking device).
It's not a very balanced game, usually ending up with each player killing the other several times without dying, and then that player dies and the fortunes reverse for an equal amount of time, and so on, ad infinitum...
I think it would be more fun if it supported more than 2 players.  The game would definitely be more dynamic.

[Foil]

I actually remember a similar multiplayer mod in MS's "StarLancer", where the players had to collect 8 "nuke charges" (?) and pass thru a hypergate to score; which in turn creates a supernova that blasts all other players...

^^^^
THIS!!

If this can't be DALLAS-scripted (e.g. it needs a .d3m mod), let me know.

[Shroudeye]

So. We just want to see other players burn in agony eh FOIL?!

Okay, there is our game, finalized:

-Players are TRAPPED in the cavern system. Only way out is the teleporter, which activates with a substance.
-The substance is highly volatile, which means activating the teleporter will trigger a massive meltdown that will destroy the entire cavern system.
-There are bots present, which extract the substance for themselves they are not happy by the presence of the players.
-There is just enough substance for ONE ship. Who goes FIRST, is the LAST.

Looks like a hectic "Power Struggle"?

By the way, I'm calling this "our game", cuz as I read, anyone on this site can participate in the project?

[-<WillyP>-]

So the bots are extracting this substance from the mine, and the players have to destroy the bots to get it?

Now, lets say there are 8 players and each of them destroy a bot and get one piece, since 8 peices are needed they need to kill all of the 7 other players to get the 8 pieces?

Then, if I have 7 pieces, everyone is gunning for me... except the one guy who has the last peice, who is hiding?

If someone is killed, does the killer get all the pieces the killed had? Or do they float around like powerups, and other players have to pick them up, or do they return to the mine and you have to kill more bots?

[Foil]

Good questions. 

Sounds like it could get a bit like "high orbs-to-score Hoard", where players are guarding the goals, and trying to snatch up all the orbs for the huge payoff.

... Not that that's a bad thing.  It's frantic, but fun. 

[Shroudeye]

Hmm. I guess I left that part a little foggy... And it IS a critical decision, which will actually get the game going...

I think we can make some brainstorming about it too? Here I go:

To be honest, WillyP, I was thinking that those substances can be picked up like powerups... but your idea about getting them from the bots sounds better, so we got our source.

About the "hiding" players with powerups... well, we said that the substance is "highly volatile", so the player who got substance on board can take some damage... and the more substance the player has/the more it damages. An alternative to this, the substance can simply evaporate over time instead of damaging (May be better for a little less hectic game for new ones). So if the player waits too long he/she loses valuable resources or gets destroyed...

Lastly, what happens if a player destroys a "carrier": The substance can simply be destroyed (again its "volatile" nature helps), so the players must go hunting for substance... That also means that there are a "lot" more substance instead of "just enough"... Well, that is an easy change, as the teleporter gets destroyed with a huge blast that devours all the players except the "Survivor"!

One thing remains then... what happens if two players with sufficient substance (8 units or not, it depends on the map's size) teleports at the same time?

A. It can be allowed so players win the game "tied"
or
B. The maximum "alive" bots for an instance which carries the substance can be limited, so having 2 or more players carrying it becomes a little difficult...

Feel free to share your ideas...

[-<WillyP>-]

How about this:  There are a given number of parts needed to repair a machine to exit. At level start, these parts are each held by a bot, and the players must destroy a bot to get a part.  But the player does not know which bots have parts and which don't.  So, lets say 8 parts are needed to exit the mine, there are 10 in the level. The first player to accumulate the 8 parts heads to the exit and fights his way out, because once the 8 parts are got all the other players will know who has them.

If a player destroys a bot or kills a player carrying a part, he won't automatically get the part, he will have to pick it up, like spew when a player dies.  Other players or bots could pick it up.

Because there are 10 parts, a player with one or two won't be as likely to be hunted by the player with 10.  And therefore no point in hiding.  A player with three parts will know that without one of those three, no other player can escape.  But since no one knows who has how many parts, he won't know if 7 other players each have one, or one player has 7 or if some are held by bots, or what.